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We're Changing

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:03:22 --0100

"Progress is impossible without change......" George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)

CommunityNI is getting a radical makeover. As of Wednesday 17 June, you will get to see the new look CommunityNI website. All your favourite features will be there, and some new ones too.

Not only will you be able to add your news, events and jobs (visit 'Careers') to the site, as before, but you will also be able to go back, change or remove any text even when the content is live. Also, there will be no delay in getting your information on the site. As soon as you submit it, it will appear.

In addition to these improvements, CommunityNI will now have a social networking functionality, allowing you to search for organisations, join groups, set up groups and more. You will also be able to search for individuals who have registered on the site, allowing for fantasti

This week in the Assembly - 15 June 2009

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:00:04 --0100

Monday 15 June 2009

Questions to the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister

East Antrim MLA David Hilditch will ask the Office when it will report to the Assembly on progress against targets set in the Programme for Government.

Fred Cobain (North Belfast) will ask the Office what its position is on climate change in relation to its Sustainable Development Strategy.

South Belfast MLA Anna Lo will ask the Office, in the absence of the Cohesion, Sharing and Integration Strategy, if it would consider reviving the Racial Equality Strategy to require departments to produce annual action plans to tackle racism and racial discrimination.

Peter Weir (North Down) will ask what steps the Executive is taking to deal with the economic downturn.

North Antrim MLA Ian Paisley Junior will ask the Office what arrangements are in place to monitor the delivery of the

NI Volunteer Wins Inaugural Macmillan Award

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:35:40 --0100

Northern Ireland woman Madeleine Mulgrew has become the first person in the UK to be awarded the Vicky Clement-Jones Award by leading charity Macmillan Cancer Support. Madeleine was presented with the award during a surprise ceremony at Cancer Choices in Dungannon.

The Vicky Clement-Jones award, named in memory of the founder of Cancerbackup which merged with Macmillan in 2008, is presented to Macmillan volunteers who have, or have had, cancer themselves and who make a significant difference to the lives of people affected by cancer.

Madeleine was diagnosed with cancer in 2001. During and following Madeleine’s treatment, she was acutely aware of the lack of support and information services available to people affected by cancer outside the greater Belfast area and this gave her the drive to do something about it.

A busy mother and grandmother, Madeleine has taken on many rol

NCVO hosts second Recession Summit

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:45:20 --0100

The summit involved a group of Charity leaders from England as well as representatives from voluntary and community sector umbrella bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Seamus McAleavey, Chief Executive of NICVA attended.

In a message to the summit Gordon Brown said

"The third sector as a whole is showing both its resilience and its importance and as a Government we are committed to supporting front-line organisations that are helping individuals and communities through the fall-out from the global recession.

We must not lose focus on the role an independent voluntary and community sector plays in our society; the British way has always been much more than self interested individualism and we are stronger for that".

The meeting recognised that the recession would begin to bite for voluntary and community organisations this

UCIT invests over £1.5m

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:44:04 --0100

UCIT's CEO, Brian Howe stated:

"We are delighted to work with such progressive and accomplished social entrepreneurs and wish them well in their community projects."

Charles Sheils Charity was founded by the will of Charles Sheils who died in Dublin in December 1861. The Charity initially acted as an Almshouse but now provides social housing for those in need. The organisation has approximately 137 properties in five different locations across Ireland.

A loan from UCIT has been approved to finance the renovation costs of 18 derelict houses in Armagh City, as well as additional building work to 7 of the charities current properties.

NI Hospice was established in 1981 to deliver palliative care services of the highest quality through a range of programmes

Mens Health Week

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:15:00 --0100

The theme this year is 'Men and Access to Services'.

Michael Lynch of MHFI said,

'One of the biggest risks to men's health is their reluctance to seek help at times of difficulty or to take part in health improvement programmes like weight loss clinics and smoking cessation programmes. Overcoming this risk requires a change of attitude by men but also a change in service delivery to take account of men's particular needs'.

He continued,

'Men's Health Week gives everyone (health care providers, public policy makers, community groups, employers, the media and individuals) an opportunity to encourage men and boys to seek help or treatment at an early stage'.

To mark this week the MHFI is:

- Distributing posters to General Practice Surgeries alerting them to the nee

IKEAS GOOD CUSTOMER CARE

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:54:15 --0100

Carol Edwards, Head of Education at the Consumer Council said,

"We were delighted to accept IKEA's invitation to run this seminar and we commend them for their commitment to improving customer care.

"With research showing consumers are now twice as confident as they were in 2003 about expressing their consumer rights, it is essential that businesses are equally confident in their understanding of consumer law and their ability to handle enquiries and complaints fairly and consistently. Confident customers keep businesses on their toes and stimulate genuine competition that both consumers and businesses can benefit from."

Stephen Thompson from Consumerline - which helps people with issues

Prevention of Child Abuse

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:27:35 --0100

Dear Friends and Partners,

Because many of you could not return the registration Form in time, WWSF is extending to 22 June the deadline for filling the attached document (2 pages).

Download Registration Form

Last year, 933 organizations from 135 countries joined the international coalition marking the World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse, organizing activities and events on 19 November or supporting the Day in general.

We sincerely hope to count you among the 2009 coalition members and celebrate with you the power of partnership in creating a global culture for prioritizing prevention.

Best regards.

Lauren Maitrejean
Co-ordinator Children's Section
WWSF Women's World Summit Foundation
11 Avenue de la Paix
1202 Geneva, Switzerland

tel: +41 (0) 22 783 66 19
fax: +41 (0) 22 783 82 48
email: wdpca@wwsf.ch
web: http://www.woman.ch

"No violence against children is justifiable, all violence against children is preventable" - Prof. Paulo S. Pinheiro

Clean Coast Week

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:48:55 --0100

In light of World Oceans Day we should all be taking time to celebrate and appreciate the resources and opportunities that our oceans provide us. However we cannot take anything the seas offer us for granted especially when there are countless issues which threaten our richest resource. Marine litter is perhaps one of the most serious, causing the deaths of millions of sea creatures. Every year and every day and on every wave more and more plastic is landing on our beaches.

TIDY NI's National Coastal Officer, Jennifer Smyth said,

"We must now try to understand the full extent of the impact that littering has on our environment and try to do something about it. We would like to sincerely thank everyone who has helped out during the Coca-Cola Clean Coast Week and would appeal to beach users everywhere to either use bins provided or take their rubbish home with them."

Grant-makers weather economic storm

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:45:41 --0100

Members of ACF currently manage over £30 billion in investments within the UK and provide about 10% of the annual income for the voluntary sector.

In responding to this research Seamus McAleavey, Chief Executive of NICVA said:

"This is some extremely good news, amidst the gloom of the ongoing downturn in the economy. Grants are the lifeblood to so many voluntary and community organisations, allowing them to continue the work that they do."

In support of this research are the findings of a recent Funders Survey carried out by NICVA at the end of May. Nearly half of respondents stated the recession had not affected them, with organisations like Comic Relief stating that it "has had a positive impact on the funding we have available to distribute. We did unexpectedly well on Red Nose Day."

When asked how much the incom

Charities working across borders

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:53:19 --0100

In responding to these concerns the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA) has got together with the umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector from the South of Ireland, The Wheel, to host a conference on Tuesday 30 June . The Conference will examine potential issues that charities may face when working across borders.

Seamus McAleavey, Chief Executive of NICVA stated:

'It is anticipated that this will be the first in an ongoing series of annual conferences which will allow cross-border charities to receive information on the most current developments affecting them, discuss the implications of regulations; and provide a platform from which to gather feedback which the supporting agencies will take back to the responsible governments and regulators."

Key speakers at the event include Prof Gareth Morgan, Sheffield Hallam Unive

Volunteers meet HRH Princess Royal

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:05:40 --0100

Cruse Bereavement Care aims to promote the well-being of bereaved people and to enable anyone suffering a bereavement to understand their grief and cope with their loss, through a nationwide network of trained Bereavement Volunteers and through its National Helpline.

In Northern Ireland Cruse has been providing bereavement support since 1984 and is part of a national organisation which is celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2009. Cruse is a volunteer based organisation with 500 volunteers in Northern Ireland, who in 2007-2008 gave 37,619 hours to support the organisation. In 2008 the work of Cruse in Northern Ireland was acknowledged by being awarded The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service.

On arrival Her Royal Highness was greeted by The Lord

Do you listen to BBC Radio 2 or 6 Music?

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:38:09 --0100

The BBC Audience Council wants to hear your views. We work to make sure that the opinions of audiences in Northern Ireland are heard at the heart of the BBC by representing audiences’ views to the BBC Trust, the BBC’s governing body.

The Trust’s role is to get the best out of the BBC for licence fee payers and one way it does this is by reviewing BBC services at least once every five years. This year, the Trust is looking at Radio 2 and 6 Music.

If you are a Radio 2 or 6 Music listener then please take a few moments to tell us what you think at: www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/audiencecouncil or contact us at the BBC on 028 9033 8856 and we can forward a questionnaire to you by post.

Closing date for submissions 25 July 2009

Take action on active travel

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 10:08:56 --0100

It plans to do this by:

* committing 10% of transport budgets to cycling and walking initiatives

* a 20mph speed limit to be made the norm in residential areas

* a coherent high quality network of walking and cycle routes that link everyday destinations

* improved driver training and better enforced traffic laws

* ambitious official targets to be set for increases in walking and cycling

Since the launch, additional supporters have continued to sign up, and we now have nearly 100 organisations on board.

Attached is an updated version of the Take action on active travel policy call - this includes a fuller list of signatories who have pledged their support since the launch in 2008. We will be happy to provide you with stocks of printed versions of Take action on active travel - to order please email Philip.Insall@sustrans.org.uk and provide your ma

This week in the Assembly 8-12 June 2009

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:03:59 --0100

Monday 8 June 2009

Questions to the Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety

East Antrim MLA Sean Neeson will ask the Minister what action his Department is taking to make it easier for parents to foster.

Mid-Ulster MLA Billy Armstrong will ask the Minister for an update on the Comprehensive Spending Review efficiency savings process for his Department.

Upper Bann MLA Dolores Kelly will ask the Minister if any progress has been made in highlighting the risks of sunbed usage since the Cancer Research UK SunSmart Campaign was launched.

South Belfast MLA Anna Lo will ask the Minister to outline the health care provision to be made in light of the proposed cuts in mental health and elderly care in the Belfast Trust area.

North Belfast MLA Fred Cobain will ask the Minister for an update on the Public Health Agency.

Questions to the Minister for Regional Development

South Down